No, but I would like to. I was not sure if I could do one now. I have been only taking my Gernal classes, and I was not sure I could or if I can not. I did not have the nevre to ask the local newspaper or even who to call. Do you have to already be working on the Journalism classes?

I graduated from MSOE with a BS in Techioncal Communication in 1998. A 6-credit (If I remember right, credits were about $280 each), 120-hour internship was mandatory. And as I understand it, it wasn't too many years since they started allowing paid internships, and a few instructors thought students got better experience back when unpaid internships were the rule. They didn't assign me an internship, I had to go find it for myself. I wound up stitching my internship together from three different "contracts" (one unpaid, one "watever-you-feel-like-giving-me," one regular job with an hourly wage). None of them was what you think of as an "internship" (relatively minor job in a position to watch the experts/veterans); I knew more about what I was doing than the people I was working with. I was literally paying for the priveledge to work. Maybe the "pity factor" helped me land one or two of them, knowing I HAD to do SOMETHING in the field...

CU-Boulder required journalism students to have an internship and as I far as I know most were unpaid. Mine paid a whopping $6.00 an hour, which may not be large, but did motivate me to get there every morning.

Regardless, I think internships are essential. There are so many entry-level folks out there, an internship may be the only way you set yourself apart.

Well, my internship wasn't a writing internship, it was a teaching internship. They do that at my high school. I did it for about 1 1/2 years and it was so much fun! I got to work with the kids and find out what being a teacher is like, because I want to be a teacher when I grow up. I didn't get paid, though.

Unpaid internships make sense for the privileged few graduates who have family support to facilitate interning in the publishing world. However, for most getting paid is essential, and for those of us who want to write after a lifetime of work, it is hardly feasible that we would make good interns or be able to financially manage without income. The unpaid internship has merit as a learning opportunity, but I see no reason why minimum hourly wages would not be paid for any work. If a commercial entity is profiting from the filing or reading or editing done by the intern, why should his/her work be accepted without pay? I would discourage this practice as it takes advantage of youth by devaluing years of education already earned and exploits their lack of a resume.

Some times unpaid internships are de-motivating for students, it will be better if they get at least the transportation cost. However, unfortunately, most of the institutes practices the unpaid internships.

By the time I graduated college I'd held three different internships, all of which turned into paying jobs of one type or another. All of them were valuable, but the last one was priceless - I was in college full-time, working almost full-time as a waitress, and interning part time at a literary agency. It was exhausting, but that internship launched both my publishing and freelance career.

That said, not all internships are created equal - I was thrown right into the mix reading, evaluating, and responding to query letters and manuscripts, but I know other lit agency interns just got coffee...so make sure you know what you're getting into and that you're getting valuable, marketable experience out as well.

ah, but even being a lowly gofer can have its useful side... making contacts in the industry you want to succeed in is the key, in most cases... and always bringing a good cup of coffee, remembering what everyone likes, is a good way to be noticed/liked and can lead to being 'taken under the wing' of folks who can open doors for you...

so, don't reject all entry level jobs below the first rung on the ladder out of hand... they can often get you close to the top quicker than you think!